Onstage at VH1 DIVAS tonight, the name of the game was the glitzier the better, as befits a dance-themed show. But before the likes of Miley Cyrus, Adam Lambert, Keri Hilson and more hit the stage in their best studded leather and sequins, they all had very different ideas of how to approach the purple carpet. It was just the kind of daring and diversity that makes these artists the perfect guests for a celebration of diva-tude. There was Demi Lovato looking rockabilly cute and Ciara doing old-Hollywood glam. Jordin Sparks and Bootsy Collins sparkled, while Brandy and Kat Graham donned edgy white and ivory.

Whatever their approach, none of these ladies and gentlemen was about to fade into the crowd.

We always appreciate celebrities who take to Twitter and Instagram and share their lives with us. And while a lot of what they share is amusing insight into their world, it’s safe to say some of their most entertaining tweets are shots of their ink. Let’s face it, tattoos are fascinating forms of self-expression and it’s always interesting to see what people permanently etch into their skin — especially celebrities.

Lady Gaga, Drake, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Adam Lambert and more got their ink on this year. And despite commending them for braving the needle, some tattoos are just worse than others. We’ve ranked them from our least to most favorite, so browse through our gallery of 20 Instagram shots and Twitpics and tell which is your favorite celeb tattoo of 2012.

Over the past year nail art has reached new heights of popularity among celebrities — and regular people too. Stars usually step out on the red carpet with a fresh manicure, but of late, nails have stopped being merely an accessory and have evolved into a focal point. Zooey Deschanel kicked off the year with adorable tuxedo nails at the 2012 Golden Globes and Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Rihanna and Amber Rose have followed suit, stepping up the style on their digits and, for our benefit, documenting their creativity on Instagram and Twitter along the way.

Browse through our gallery and tell us which celebs hit the nail(s) on the head in 2012.

VH1 DIVAS is almost here and it is going to be an amazing party. So get your night started right with special drink recipes from our friends at Smirnoff. Here’s one for their delish drink, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

A tweet for the tweets! Demi Lovato took to twitter last night to shared some snaps of her new tattoo with her followers. “And another picture of my new birdies,” she captioned one of the several photos. The ink depicts 12 birds flying up her arm, trailing the word “Faith” written in elegant script. Deeper meaning or massive George Michael fan? You be the judge.

This isn’t first experience with tattoos. The 20-year-old singer already has the words “Stay” and “Strong” tattooed on her respective wrists, as well as “let go” and “let God” on her feet. But this time around is pretty special the tatt was given to her by former L.A. Ink star Kat Von D! “Thank you so much @thekatvond for my new ink!!” she gushed. “I think it’s beautiful and I love it!!” What do you think of the new ink? Get a closer look in the gallery below and let us know!

One Direction heart-throb Niall Horan is having a pretty crappy week. Not only is Demi Lovato insisting that they’re not dating, but he’s also nursing injuries sustained by a particularly brutal squirrel attack! That’s rough dude, but it happens to the best of us. Right guys? Or maybe it just happens in John Hughes movies. Despite being seen having an “intimate” dinner at L.A.’s Pick Taco following the VMAs on September 6th, Demi basically gave Niall the “Let’s Just Be Friends” talk via Teen Vogue.”He’s a really awesome, sweet guy, but not my boyfriend,” she says. “I’m in a place right now where I really need to focus on myself. Obviously, I’m still going to like people – or love them – but I need to not be in a relationship for a while because I need to be okay with being alone, first.” The newly minted X Factor judge has been shooting down dating rumors left and right in the past few weeks. Is it for real, or does the lady protest too much?

Rejection’s gotta sting, but probably not as much as Niall’s squirrel injuries. The boy band singer was seem limping out of a London television studio on crutches, and has recently undergone surgery to repair torn ligaments in his knee as the apparent result of a squirrel run-in. “I got attacked by a squirrel in Battersea Park,” he told a British magazine. “They’re dangerous. It’s rare. I’ve torn most of the ligaments in my knee.” What the hell kind of squirrel was it!? We’re kind of thinking (wondering, hoping) that Niall is kidding about the whole squirrel thing, otherwise we’re going to have to think twice every time we go for a stroll in the park. But for now, we’re going to add it to our list of celebs who have gone head to head with the wild…and lost. Check out more bizarre celebrity animal injuries in the gallery below!

We’ve been looking forward to seeing Demi Lovato speak on Katietoday about her battle with eating disorders and the message she wants to send to her young fans who might be going through the same thing. Now it looks like that interview — and indeed the entire episode of Katie Couric’s talk show devoted to the topic — has an extra layer of meaning. According to the New York Post, Couric admits on the show that she also suffered from bulimia when she was a young woman.

“I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that,” she said at the taping. “And I know this rigidity, this feeling that if you eat one thing that’s wrong, you’re full of self-loathing and then you punish yourself, whether it’s one cookie or a stick of gum that isn’t sugarless, that I would sometimes beat myself up for that.”Read more…

“Guess what’s back, back, back, back again….. BANGS are back, back, back tell your friends,” Demi Lovato announced on her Twitter last night, along with the above pic of her blonder-than-ever tresses with gorgeous long bangs. As much as we admire Demi’s flawless forehead (seriously, we covet this girl’s skin!), the new ‘do brings out her eyes perfectly. And this pic reminded us of another brunette-turned-blond beauty who recently showed off her fringe, Paris Jackson. The gorgeous 14-year-old posted Instagram pics of herself getting a cut and color just last month at the Nick Chavez Salon. Again, the bangs accentuate Paris’ stunning eyes.

Now, we’re not saying this is a ‘do for everyone — and we’d like to make a public service announcement to remind the world what a pain in the ass it is to grow your bangs out when you want to switch back — but these two ladies are seriously making us want to embrace the cut once more. (OK, my own pixie cut is going to make this a longer-term challenge, but it might be worth it.) How about you?

Here in the VH1 offices, we’ve been evaluating the judging skills of Britney Spears and Demi Lovato on The X Factor. The consensus so far is that Demi’s being a whole lot nicer than Brit. And we’re not sure if that’s a good thing, when it comes to some of the more awful contestants on the show. We know Demi is a sweetheart to her fans, but she’s also got a quick wit we’d kind of like to see more of. She showed off that sharp tongue of hers on last night’sConan, only it was directed at Simon Cowell rather than a misguided pop star wannabe.

“We’re trying to reach a younger demographic, and I just don’t think we’re going to accomplish that when he’s showing more cleavage than Britney and I are,” she said when Conan O’Brien asked what she thought of Cowell’s signature wardrobe.

The X Factor finally returned last night and it did not disappoint. The singing was great (for the most part), Britney Spears and Demi Lovato were entertaining, and the revamped look of the show was stunning. Throw in a little Khloe Kardashian and this contest may actually beat The Voice in the ratings this year.

Here are 5 things The X Factor did right in its season-two premiere. Let us know if you agree or disagree. And tell us what you thought of Britney judging style.

1. It’s Britney, Bitch!
We never doubted Britney Spears would be a great addition to The X Factor judging panel. What was in doubt was her ability to form fully developed thoughts without the assistance of her caregiver/fiance Jason Trawick. And would Britney be able to go an entire two hours without smacking on a piece of Juicy Fruit? Well, color us surprised, y’all, because Brit Brit was fierce on last night’s premiere.

In addition to her brutally honest critiques, Britney looked great (loved the glasses!) and was far less cold to Demi Lovato than we would have imagined (young pop star vs. older pop star — there’s a Lifetime movie in there somewhere). Plus, she showed a range of emotions we weren’t sure she still had in her. Overall, adding Britney to the show is the best decision Simon Cowell could have made this season.

2. Wait, Is This The Hills 2.0?Say what you will about reality shows and their manufactured drama, but the green room catfights and boy band life lessons on The X Factor really made us think we were watching a long-lost episode of The Hills — and we loved it. Watching Kaci and Kaylee Newton mean girl Paige Thomas so reminded us of that time Audrina and Heidi didn’t invite Lauren to a party in West Hollywood … or something like that. Keep the fabricated drama coming!Read more…